TRAVERSE CITY, MI—Michigan State Police have announced the reopening of their post in the 14th Street building where the post had been located before more than a decade ago.
The full-service post will begin operation Jan. 9, 2023, in its original location in the Traverse City building that was built in the 1930s, Lt. Derrick Carroll said.
A 22-year-veteran of the state police, First Lt. Stephen Porter, has been named the new post commander. Troopers and sergeants will be stationed at the post, which will serve the counties of Grand Traverse, Benzie, and Leelanau.
In 2011, due to statewide budget constraints, state police closed and consolidated several posts, including the one in Traverse City. Since that day, Carroll said, the building has been used as a detachment of their post in Cadillac. That allowed some local troopers and sergeants to start and end their shifts, schedule appointments and complete administrative tasks here.
During that time, the lobby was not staffed or open to the public.
But that will change in January.
"After completing a review of post service areas in the Seventh District and gathering input from community stakeholders, the decision was made to re-establish the Traverse City post utilizing the Traverse City detachment to best deliver MSP services in the region," Capt. Jennifer Johnson, Seventh District commander, said.
Carroll said a post commander and an assistant post commander had been assigned to the post in Cadillac. After that assistant post commander retired this past fall, the state police chose to red-line that role and, instead, use those funds to reopen the post here.
"They reduced the staffing at the Cadillac post to fulfill the Traverse City post," Carroll said.
The post here will be fully staffed, he said, declining, for security reasons, to give an exact number who will be based in Traverse City.
After the post in Traverse City reopens, Carroll said their post in Cadillac will serve Wexford, Manistee and Missaukee counties, while the post in Houghton Lake will continue to serve Roscommon, Crawford and Kalkaska counties.
"The troopers and sergeants that will be there have always been in the region," Carroll said. "They were working for the Cadillac post, but residing in Leelanau, Grand Traverse and Benzie counties.
"So the people that will be working there won't be new to the area."
Porter, the new post commander, has been with the state police since 2000 and, most recently, served as a detective sergeant at the post in Houghton Lake. He also has worked in different roles at the former post in Kalkaska County.
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